The New Unbundlers

I’ve always loved the Jim Barksdale quote from the Netscape IPO roadshow: “There’s only two ways I know of to make money: bundling and unbundling” — mainly for its simplicity and truth that has stood the test of time and markets.

Today, Amazon has emerged as the Apex Predator of bundlers.

It’s been bundling pretty much everything since it started selling books online as Amazon.com in 1995. The scope of that bundling couldn’t be more clear than when Jeff Bezos told Walt Mossberg in 2016 “when we win a Golden Globe, it helps us sell more shoes in a very direct way.” Or when the totally plausible rumor that Amazon was acquiring Capital One circulated earlier this year. For Amazon, which probably holds more credit cards on file than anyone, becoming a bank seems inevitable. The fact that the rumor didn’t take the market by surprise only further makes the point.

There are plenty of companies that have figured out how to live in Amazon’s world: Bonobos, Warby Parker, Trunk Club, Apple, Tesla. These companies have built differentiated products, but importantly, they offer differentiated experiences to their customers which allow them to thrive in today’s climate.

So basically, everyone other than Amazon is an unbundler, whether they like it or not.

The good news: mobile gives brands a clean slate at creating a great experience and currently the bar is very low

The companies above were innovators, succeeding without a distinct advantage that’s only recently emerged. Today it’s easier than ever to create differentiated customer experiences. The reason: our primary computing devices — smartphones — are personal in the way PCs could never be. The vision of brands having 1:1 “conversations” with customers is now officially here. Our devices are with us all the time, and always connected with notifications.

This presents an incredible opportunity for any company trying to form a connection with its customers. It’s through creating 1:1 interactions with customers that companies can successfully deliver. The companies that create the best, most thoughtful, informed, personal interactions will win.

Companies must acknowledge that the until-recently ubiquitous model of customer engagement is broken. The fragmented channels of communications that involve call center handoffs that lose context from one person to the next — they don’t work. The multiple marketing emails from the same company that bombard customers with uncoordinated pitches — they don’t work. Cold outreach calls — they don’t work.

Personal mobile devices enable better, so customers now expect better.

Further, they enable customers to engage with products and services in a whole new, experiential way. Personal mobile devices empower customers to control those products from anywhere, any time.

The future is conversational customer experiences and 1:1 interactions that make customers feel seen, heard and empowered.

Much has been made of Life Time Value (LTV) of customer, but not the life time customer conversation. The truly personal, 1:1 nature of mobile-centric engagement for the first time, enables the conversation, from inception to the current moment, to be the foundation and power source of the Value in LTV.

What do smart 1:1 conversational customers experiences look like?

Imagine being able to open your bank’s app and quickly order a new debit card over messaging, rather than spending ten minutes navigating an automated phone system. Or getting a notification delivered to your phone that suspicious account activity has been detected and being able to authorize a hold on the card in one swift motion without opening an email or making a phone call.

Imagine getting a notification that your flight’s been canceled, but rather than simply being given that information and forced to call and talk to some — a push notification arrives that opens into the airline app which presents an interactive card with the next best option, based on frequent flier status and preferences, with your new boarding pass. No phone call, just a simple, clean, intelligent handling of what can be a very stressful situation, especially when you’re on the go and just trying to get home.

Imagine getting a reminder that you need to order something to wear to an upcoming wedding you’re invited to, and in one click being taken to a messaging conversation with a personal stylist who, based on your buying history and the wedding details, recommends specific pants and shirt that will match the tie you already purchased.

These are the types of customer experiences that demonstrate an understanding of the customer, and delight them in a way the old way of communicating doesn’t. These experiences create customer loyalty. They are the experiences that enable companies to win.

The right customer experience can’t be delivered out of the box because it varies so much from company to company. From functionality to design to interactions, it must truly be a custom experience.

Here at Layer we obsess over these details. We’re building the Customer Conversation Platform, everything brands need to rethink and redesign their customer conversations for the 1:1 mobile era. Get in touch — we’d love to help you build yours: ron@layer.com.